FITUR: five days to experience and “savour” Madrid
The 44th edition of FITUR will take place from 24 to 28 January and the city council will be there to promote the major assets that have made Madrid one of the most attractive destinations in the world. During the five days at IFEMA Madrid, the city council and the regional government will be promoting the tourist image of the capital from their joint stand in Hall 9, continuing their close collaboration and reinforcing the current strong positioning that both the city and the region hold.
This year, the Madrid stand will offer a graphic audiovisual tour that will take professionals and the general public to different parts of the region. Thanks to the collaboration of some of the most important companies and institutions in the sector, the stand’s large-format screens will connect live to various tourist hot spots to offer information of interest, and they will also display videos of Madrid’s main attractions.
The tour will provide a dynamic overview of Madrid as a destination, showcasing the quality and diversity of its offering and the exciting new features that await visitors who choose to come to the city in 2024. Its historical and natural heritage, culture, gastronomy, shopping and leisure options, sports and unique characteristics will all be on display at the stand.
Experience Madrid as a destination
Visitors to the fair will be able to discover some of the most outstanding experiences the capital has to offer. The stand will host tastings of typical products and dishes from Madrid’s gastronomy thanks to the participation of the city’s municipal markets, the San Ginés chocolate emporium, La Daniela tavern and the patisseries of the Association of Artisan Pastry and Bakery Entrepreneurs of the Community of Madrid (ASEMPAS). Attendees will also be able to enjoy many other activities, such as demonstrations by artisans and traders from Barrio de las Letras, flamenco performances and much more.
The Madrid stand is made from recycled and reused materials, including paper composite panels from a number of recycling plants in the region, in line with one of the capital’s strategic tourism priorities: sustainability. It has also been designed to be accessible so that everyone can benefit from and enjoy it.
Presentations and institutional events
In addition to the meetings and working sessions that the Tourism Department has scheduled with representatives of the global tourism industry during the fair, the stand will also be the venue for a series of presentations and institutional events. A new feature this year will be a screen, resembling information panels found in airports and train stations, which will announce all the events taking place at the stand.
The city council’s programme of events includes handing out the Madrid Acoge, Hermestur and Best Guided Tour awards, presentations by the San Fernando Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Open House, Madrid Craft Week, ADN FÓRUM and the House of Alba, the promotion of the route Landscape of Light on the Screens, and the celebration of Madrid Day on Friday 26 January. The city council will also use this forum to present the Ibero-American Strategy for Tourism of the Future (EIT), the result of a collaboration between the Union of Ibero-American Capital Cities (UCCI) and the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).
LGBT+ and screen tourism
The city council will be strongly represented in two of the thematic sections of the International Tourism Trade Fair, in collaboration with the Community of Madrid. It will have its own stand at FITUR LGBT+ (Hall 9) and at FITUR Screen (Hall 10), in an effort to promote Madrid in these two dynamic tourism segments.
The Tourism Department will also provide information on what Madrid has to offer LGBTQ+ tourists and the specific events that the city will be organising throughout the year. The Madrid Film Office, the city council’s audiovisual department, will be busy promoting screen tourism, which attracts those visitors to the capital that are keen to explore the places they’ve see in their favourite TV series and films./